Why hello! This is your friendly neighborhood Maximilian Pegasus, and obviously they put a game master such as myself in charge of this year's Cosplay Chess match.

What is that some of you ask? What is Cosplay Chess? Why, it is the showcase of both strategic elegance and the ruthless cutting down of cherished characters for the entertainment of the masses. Oh, but I'm sure you want an actual explanation. One second ...

'In Cosplay Chess, two teams of opposing sides square off. Under the control of two expert chess players, pieces move on stage. The board itself is populated by characters from anime, manga, and video games. From Sailor Moon to All Might, these characters engage in battles' ... far more planned out and entertaining then that silly DeathMatch (Friday @ AB) in my humble opinion ... 'to see which side shall emerge victorious.'

Now that I'm done reading their official statement, let's get down to business. I need suitable sacrif-... players to fill the board. This year, the stars are aligning and a battle between the stars above and the filthy land walkers on Earth seems inevitable. I invite all you delightful cosplayers to apply and I shall take the most breathtaking, the highest skilled, and those that pay me under the table* and present you to the slaug-...public. To the public. Applications for the Cosplay Death Match and all other Cosplay Games Events will open on January 1st, 2018 at noon and will remain open through the end of February.

A reminder: Anime Boston is an anime convention that is part of the New England Anime Society (NEAS). As such, we can only accept applications from characters that originally hail from a Japanese created media. That means we cannot accept anything from Undertale, Stephen Universe, Avatar, Overwatch, etc. This is not my rule, but it is a very important rule that has consequences for the convention itself if I break it.

Now, in the meantime, if you wish to see what a full game of Cosplay Chess looks like, might I suggest watching this one? I hear there's a delightful little scamp playing that year. https://youtu.be/qxnqEuA6zrs

*I really don't want your money. I have plenty of money. Use that to buy a hat or something.

A reminder to you fine folks that you have until the end of this month to submit your applications. Do not hesitate to apply. If you update an individual cosplay's profile, it will automatically update on your application.